CHERRIES defender Simon Francis insisted he had never pinned his hopes on an England call that he felt was never on the cards.

The 31-year-old has earned rave reviews since being switched from right-back to centre-half during the height of Cherries’ early-season injury crisis.

His form alongside Steve Cook at the heart of the defence has seen manager Eddie Howe stick with the unlikely double act.

The Cherries captain was thought to be one of the players on Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson’s radar when he took in last month’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Everton and the Premier League trip to Watford seven days later.

Legendary England centre-half Terry Butcher was among those to laud Francis’s international credentials but the player himself revealed his omission when the squad was announced last week had not been surprising.

Francis told the Daily Echo: “Family and friends might have sent me a text or two to mention it but I stayed well away from that. For me, it wouldn’t have happened to be honest.

“I know Roy Hodgson came to a couple of games and might have been watching one or two players but he could have been there to look at some of our opponents as well.

“I didn’t think anything of it at all. I have only played the best part of one season in the Premier League and have enjoyed every minute of it.

“My age probably comes into it as well, I’m that little bit older and they are going to Euro 2016 with such a young and talented squad. I think there are a lot of players ahead of me in terms of experience.”

And not only is Francis relaxed about being overlooked but also reckons it could prove to be a blessing in disguise.

The Cherries players not called up for international duty jetted straight out to a training camp in Dubai after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Tottenham and having enjoyed a similar experience last season, Francis wants to tee up another strong sprint to the finish.

“It is a good time to recover and relax but also to get some good training out there,” he added.

“People might see that we are off to Dubai and think we’re going for a jolly up but it is not like that at all.

“We benefited hugely from it last season, kicked on and won promotion.

“It is all about the lads getting together for the week, concentrating on the finer details of what we’re doing, getting in some hard work and acclimatising to the heat.

“It helps to get away for a week. We’re not going to dwell on this performance for too long but at the same time it is a good opportunity to analyse everything.

“We have a good couple of weeks to focus not just on what we did wrong, but the things we did well and take that into the Manchester City game. It has come at a good time for us.”